REXDALE, ON — Peter Heffering thought she was on pace for a 1:53 mile. Driver Steve Condren thought the clock had malfunctioned. Woodbine Racetrack officials double checked the time on the video replay of the race.
The truth was nothing had malfunctioned, the 1:51.2 time was correct and Precious Delight had captured her Gold Series Elimination in a seemingly effortless fashion, just two-fifths of a second off the all-time Ontario Sires Stakes record.
“She certainly started off the right way,” says Heffering, who bred and owns the gifted three-year-old pacing filly. “It looked like she was well within herself. It was a fast track and there was no wind and just watching, it looked like if she’d had to, she could have gone faster.”
Precious Delight’s 2002 debut maintained the unblemished record she fashioned as a two-year-old, extending her win streak to 12 races, and lowered her previous personal best time by more than two seconds. The Duane Marfisi trainee has her eyes set on win number 13 when she goes to post in the $130,000 Gold Final at Woodbine Racetrack on Monday night and fans are expected to make her and driver Steve Condren the heavy favourite from Post 5.
“Post 5 is a high percentage post, that should be a good spot,” says Heffering, who makes his home in Port Perry, ON. “If she is good she’ll be competitive, and I guess someone will say she’s the one to beat.”
While he would like to see the Precious Bunny daughter storm through a second undefeated season, Heffering knows the odds are not in his favour.
“It’s going to happen, she will get beat,” he says. “No doubt it will happen more than once.”
Among the fillies hoping to bring a quick end to the win streak is Imoutahere, the other Gold Elimination winner, who will start from Post 7 on Monday night. The Run The Table daughter stopped the clock in a sedate 1:54.4 in the Elimination, but has a personal best 1:52.2 this season for trainer Bill Robinson and owners Gerrie Tucker of Montreal and Sampson Street Stables of Old Forge, PA.
Go Alberta Go logged the second fastest mile in the elimination round, finishing four lengths behind Precious Delight in 1:52.1. John Kopas trains the Albert Albert filly, who will start from Post 8 in the $130,000 Final, for Glengate Farms of Campbellville and Clay Harland Horner and Suvretta Stables of Toronto.
In some ways, having Precious Delight ring up lucky number 13 would just be icing on the cake for Heffering. After her two-year-old season the breeder decided to try an embryo transfer with the filly. She was successfully bred to American sire Western Hanover early in 2002 and the March 8 embryo transfer to a surrogate mare went off without a hitch, so Heffering will have another potential star in his barn next season.
But for the moment the longtime horseman will have his eyes focused on Woodbine Racetrack on Monday night when Precious Delight and her peers compete for $130,000 worth of Gold Series glory. Woodbine sends its first race behind the starting gate at 7:40 pm and the three-year-old pacing fillies will march off to battle in the fourth race.